Asia Democracy Research Network Year Six - The Fairness Trap:

After explaining the confusion surrounding the vaccine approval process and the characteristics of the vaccine reservation systems in Japan, this paper analyzes how the reservation systems were problematic from the perspective of equity. [...] The pharmaceutical authorities in the UK, for example, conducted domestic approval of the vaccines using a rolling review system in light of the urgency of the situation, where they did not wait for all the data from clinical trials to become available, but reviewed the data at each stage. [...] This delay in approval, combined with delays in the production and supply of vaccines of Pfizer, as well as the European Union’s measures to control the export of vaccines manufactured in the EU, resulted in a significant delay in the supply of vaccines in Japan. [...] In the face of the government's attempts to rush the vaccination of the elderly, municipal offices focused on ways to ensure that the elderly population get their appointments fairly and quickly. [...] However, it is necessary to review the root of the confusion that arose in the early days over the vaccination of the elderly, and attempt to reflect it in the design of social systems.